


Born Again

by catgrump



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: M/M, PG-13 Smut, The Joseph Redemption Story we never got
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-06 21:53:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11609688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catgrump/pseuds/catgrump
Summary: It's been almost a year since AJ moved to Maple Bay and fell for the local youth minister.  It's been almost a year since AJ's heart was broken, and he gets a text from the man who hurt him asking to talk.  What could Joseph possibly have to say to AJ?





	1. Born Again

**Author's Note:**

> AJ is the name of my Dadsona and I wanted the story to be third person and everyone else who wrote Dadsona stories in third person kinda just used their Dadsona's name so I went with the trend

Waiting was always the worst part. Joseph sat on a bench in front of the marina, his leg shaking and his phone gripped in his hand as if his life depended on it. He unlocked his phone for the seventh time in the past two minutes and refreshed his messages. He tapped the conversation at the top of the list, and saw (again) that AJ had received the last message, and that AJ was not in fact typing something new. He exhaled the breath he was holding, relieved, yet disappointed.

            _At least he hasn’t changed his mind_ , he thought, _Well, he hasn’t said he’s changed his mind._

            The sun had slowly been descending, and it made time seem to move even slower. Joseph asked AJ to meet him at 7:30, but Joseph had been here since he got off work at 5, planning the right words to say, hoping and praying that everything could turn out okay, and attempting to cope with the possibility of everything blowing up in his face.

 

* * *

 

            The sky was turning pink and the sun was standing on the horizon line when AJ spotted Joseph pacing and talking to himself around a bench. AJ is not a confrontational person, but he believes everyone deserves to be heard. When he got Joseph’s message this morning asking ‘if he could talk to him this evening’, he was skeptical. It’s been almost a year since he moved to Maple Bay, and almost eight months since Joseph ended things. Why would he wait so long to have any real conversation with him? What could he possibly have to say? Should he trust him?

            AJ checked his phone; it’s 7:30 on the dot. He saw Joseph take a deep breath, and sit himself down on the bench. It was safe to approach.

            “Joseph?” He carefully inquired as he stood a few feet away

            Joseph’s eyes grew wide and he grinned when he heard AJ say his name. “AJ, I’m so glad you made it. Thank you so much.”

            “What did you want to talk about?” AJ asked, sitting on the opposite side of him

            Joseph sighed. He spent hours planning what he would say, but now that AJ was actually here, none of it sounded right. There were so many things he needed to address, but would AJ even listen to him?

            “Perhaps it’d be best if I begin with an apology,” His gaze was at his shoes, but Joseph needed to make sure AJ believed his sincerity, so mustered up the courage to look him in the eye, “What I did to you was despicable. I manipulated you and lied to you for my own selfish desires, and you did not deserve that. I’ve been a cruel, selfish man to many people I’ve cared about over the past five years, and none of them have deserved it.”

            AJ was doing his best to read Joseph here. He recalled a conversation he had with Amanda while he was dorm shopping with her:

 

            “Dad, I am so sorry; I can’t believe that happened to you.”

            “No, it’s fine, it’s in the past now—“

            “No, Dad, it’s not fine.”

            She stopped pushing the shopping cart in the middle of the Interior Topic: that’s how serious she was.

            “He basically offered you the position of being his side hoe.”

            “What is a side hoe?”

            “A side hoe is who you’re cheating on your partner with. He’s completely okay with messing around with you while he ‘tries to patch up his marriage’, and you really like him—“

            “I never said that, Amanda—“

            “I know you, Dad. I saw in your face and heard in your voice how much you liked him, and I know you’re coping with the fact that he’s not a good person—“

            “But—“

            “Dad, cheaters aren’t good people. They’re okay with toying with other people’s emotions just so they can have a bit of fun, instead of just talking through their issues.”

 

            And now here he is, sitting on a bench with Joseph as he attempts to talk through some issues. Everyone deserves to be heard, and AJ never stopped believing that everyone is inherently good. Joseph took another breath before continuing, “I hope that one day, you can forgive me for what I’ve done to you, but I will understand if you don’t.”

            Joseph’s gaze went back to the ground. His leg can’t stop shaking, so he squeezes his folded hands to try and focus his energy elsewhere. AJ wasn’t responding—not because he didn’t want to—because he didn’t know what to say. He’s hesitant to believe anything Joseph says these days and doesn’t know if now is a good time to start. “Joseph,” he picked his head up at the sound of his name, “Thank you.”

            What else could AJ say? This is not something to instantly forgive. If Joseph truly meant what he said, he’s going to have to prove himself.

            Joseph nodded his head in response and turned his attention to the water to try and calm himself down.

            They both watched the boats bobbing up and down on the sun-kissed waters at the docks, the silence between them growing tenser by the second. AJ was always weird with silence, so he asked what was on his mind. “Joseph… why me? Out of all the people—“

            “I thought you’d hate me the least.”

            They locked eyes, but Joseph had to quickly turn away to fight tears. He hoped AJ didn’t catch that.

            His answer took him aback. Joseph was so quick to say that, too. “You’re right,” AJ began, “I don’t hate you.”

            Joseph shut his eyes tighter as he felt a tear roll down his cheek.

            “But I don’t know if I should trust you,” AJ tried to look at his face, “You’ve lied to me before, and I’m very afraid you’ll lie to me again. You were really special to me, Joseph. Part of me still has those feelings, too, but a larger part of me is incredibly hurt.”

            Joseph turned his whole head away from AJ and wiped the tears away before turning back and saying “I know this is going to sound like me justifying, but I think you have the right to know that Mary and I have a court date in two months.”

            AJ was taken aback, and it showed in his face. Joseph continued, “The kids are getting older. They can see that Mommy and Daddy aren’t happy. Mommy and Daddy don’t kiss and hug like their friends’ mommies and daddies do. That Mommy and Daddy can barely look each other in the eye.’

            ‘I was always taught that preserving the marriage is what’s best for the kids. I guess I was lucky enough that my own parents had such a strong relationship that I thought it would be easy, and that everyone could do it. I looked at my kids and saw a change in them—in Chris especially. He wasn’t always so brooding, you know? He used to love cooking with Dad and reading books with Mom, but the more Mary and I fought, the more time he spent in his room, away from us. The twins keep to themselves and Crish cries the most out of any kid I’ve raised. Mary sat me down and told me she can’t keep this charade up any longer, and it was the first time I’d seen her completely sober in months. It was the first real, civil conversation we’ve had in a very long time. We agreed that we were essentially lying to our children, and that it’d be best if we weren’t together anymore. I let Mary have the house and kids under the guise that ‘Daddy was going on a trip’. I packed essentials and left early the next morning to come live on this boat—for real this time. I woke Mary up before I left to apologize to her. I realized if I really wanted what’s best for my kids, I needed to grow up myself. I apologized to Mary for having her go through all of my nonsense and forcing her to stay with me for so long. I hope one day she’ll forgive me, but I would only be so lucky. A few days later, we sat down with the kids and told them ‘Mommy and Daddy aren’t going to be together anymore’. The twins were pretty upset, but I could tell they were just scared because they didn’t know what was going to happen. Chris was scared, too, but he seemed to accept everything the best. It was definitely one of the most difficult conversations I’ve had with my family. ‘This doesn’t mean Mommy and Daddy don’t love you anymore’, ‘You’ll still get to spend time with Mommy and Daddy’, ‘Sometimes marriages don’t work out, and that’s okay’.”

            Joseph stared at the open water, feeling as though a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. AJ sat staring at him, astounded at Joseph’s vulnerability. Joseph felt he needed to fill the silence. “That’s that. Mary and I have been talking with our lawyers and everything is going pretty smoothly. The only real issue is who’s keeping the house, but I’m not too worried about that. We’ll let the judge decide everything in about six weeks.”

            AJ thought back to what Amanda said to him all those months ago. If Joseph truly wasn’t a good person, why would he have apologized? Why would he have apologized to Mary? Why would he have finally agreed to end his unhealthy marriage? “Joseph,” AJ paused, needing to find the right words, “Thank you for sharing your story with me.”

            All Joseph could muster was an ‘mhm’ in response. AJ could tell that this still hurt to talk about. _I’m probably the first person he’s told_ , he thought.

            AJ sat closer and put a hand to Joseph’s shoulder. He didn’t know it was the first time Joseph made physical contact with anyone in four months. “Hey, if you ever want to live on dry land again, I’ve got an extra bedroom now that Amanda’s off at school, and we’ll have a couch once she moves back. I admire you for doing what you’re doing, Joseph. The part of me that cares about you is still there. It always has been there.”

            Hope glistened in Joseph’s blue eyes as he smiled at AJ. “Thank you, AJ. That means a lot to me. I reached out to you… for a reason. It may be inherently selfish, but it really comes down to me caring about you, too. You were a genuine friend to me, and I ruined that, and with your permission, I’d like to have that friend back.”

            “Things may never be the way they were before--” AJ began. Amanda was right. He did really like Joseph when they first met. He was fun and charming with a good sense of humor, and extremely physically attractive. AJ knew he shouldn’t expect anything—especially after this whole mess—but a part of him still yearns to wake up next to him. Before his mind could wander too far, he was cut off by Joseph’s hand grasping his own.

            “Give me a chance to make things better than they were before?”

            AJ smiled. “Let’s take it one day at a time.”


	2. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AJ wasn't sure how his daughter would handle the news of a certain person living in their house.  
> He also wasn't expecting the night to go the way it did.

AJ set his mug down after taking a sip, waiting for his daughter to answer his video call. They have ‘FaceTime Dates’, as Amanda calls them, every other Wednesday evening. They get to eat dinner together twice a month, even though they’re fourteen hours away from each other. AJ’s laptop finally revealed his lovely daughter sitting at her dorm room desk. “Hey, pops,” the familiar greeting always warmed his heart, even with the tense situation he would have to deal with today.

            “Hey, Panda; it’s good to see you again.”

            “Dinner is something I always look forward to, Dad,” she said, toasting with her Styrofoam soda cup

            He toasted back with his mug shaped like a camera lens. They made small talk about Amanda’s college friends, which he didn’t quite grasp the details of— Lexi went on a date with who? What’s Bumble? Who’s Liam? Luke? Wait, did she just say ‘Leah’, or did she say ‘Liam’ again? —but he’s mostly just happy Amanda found people who make her happy and treat her well. They had more pleasantries about classes winding down and planning her classes for her fall as a sophomore already, and Amanda admitted that she was really excited to come home for the summer, which was a perfect transition for AJ to try to break heavy news to Amanda. “Anything exciting in Maple Bay these past two weeks?” She asked

            He told Amanda about Mat’s plans for a middle school graduation party for Carmensita, Briar and Hazel’s softball team making it to states, Lucien’s plans to go to community college, and Hugo getting promoted to drama teacher starting in the fall, which she was all super excited about. But now, he had to damper the mood. He picked up his mug and quickly mumbled into it, before taking a sip, “AndJoseph’sbeenlivingonourcouch.”

            “Excuse me, what was that about Joseph?”

            AJ took another sip of his tea, and raised his eyebrows in response, mostly to avoid any sort of confrontation with his daughter. He turned his gaze back to her, and noticed her growing irritation. He sighed, knowing he had to come clean. “Joseph has been living on the couch for the past week and a half. He has a court date in about a month now where he and Mary’s divorce can be finalized. He graciously let Mary live in the house with the kids while it all gets settled. I think he did that out of guilt, but who am I to say? Anyway, he apologized to me for how he treated me and I offered to let him live with me instead of living on his boat, and he accepted, and he’s been here for a week and a half.”

            Amanda was silent.

            “I do really think he’s a good person, Amanda. He just needed help to start over, and he’s doing his best. He still visits Mary so he can see the kids, and his relationship with her has actually improved since they decided to not be married anymore. There’s still hurt, but he’s trying, and the kids are fine—“

            AJ was getting a little too defensive due to his still ever-present feelings for Joseph, but what he was saying was true. Amanda cut him off, “Dad, if he’s home right now and is hearing all of this behind the door and will just burst in for some ‘surprise’ bullshit, I swear to god—“

            “God, no; there’s a board meeting at the church tonight and he won’t be home until later. I wouldn’t do that to you, honey.”

            “Why didn’t you tell me as soon as this happened?” She was getting angry.

            “Because this is something you tell someone in person, Amanda. I wanted to see your face when I told you this, because I know how you feel about Joseph. I knew you wouldn’t be the most… keen… about this, and I’m sorry this couldn’t happen sooner. I wanted to make sure everything was certain before talking to you about it—“

            “Everything was certain? What do you mean by ‘everything was certain’?” She was louder. A sure sign she wasn’t happy.

            “That he really would be living here?—“

            “Dad, if you’re with him—“

            “Amanda Ann, calm down. You know how I feel about Joseph, but he doesn’t need an intimate relationship right now. He’s focusing on his life and the relationships he already has.”

            He saw the hurt in her eyes; he raised his voice. It takes a lot for AJ to raise his voice at Amanda like that—it usually never happens. “I’m sorry, Amanda. I didn’t need to get angry like that.”

            “Thanks, Dad,” He’s glad he taught her not to say ‘it’s okay’ in response to an apology, “I know Joseph is important to you. You’re right: I’m not happy that he’s living in our house, but I love you and trust you.’

            She sighed before continuing, ‘If you say he’s getting better, I’ll believe you. What do you think is going to happen in court, if you don’t mind me asking?”

            “He hasn’t told me much, other than ‘it went well today’, ‘things look good for us’, stuff like that.”

            AJ really was in the dark here. Joseph wasn’t obligated to say anything to AJ at all; it was none of his business. AJ’s time with Joseph was happy, anyway—cooking meals together; editing photos on his laptop, sitting perhaps too close together on the couch while Joseph reads, Jimmy Buffett playing quietly in the background—he didn’t want to take any of that away.

            The rest of the Skype Date went by well. Amanda and AJ joked and laughed with mouths stuffed full of spaghetti in one room, and a turkey club in the other. They said their goodbyes, and ended the call with smiles. He took his dirty dishes into the kitchen, with his laptop in his other arm, planning to finish up some photos from Saturday’s wedding while watching HGTV.

            Being a wedding photographer while being single has always been a struggle for AJ. He loves the beauty of the happy couples and loving families, the pretty décor, and the fancy free food, but ever since he lost Alex, there was always that ping of envy and sadness in his heart whenever something reminded him of her at a wedding.

            This wedding was different, though. AJ decided to edit the ‘detail shots’ tonight—the photos of the rings, food, decorations, etc. The husband is a sailor in the Navy, and the wedding was nautical themed. He scrolled through the cupcakes frosted like life preservers, the ship’s wheel cake topper, the anchors in the floral centerpieces, and he couldn’t help but think of Joseph, and how much he would love it. He sighed dreamily, but was taken out of his trance when he heard the lock on the front door unlocking.

            It was as if the universe read his mind; Joseph was back. “Hey, AJ,” Joseph said as he closed the door behind him, “How was dinner with Amanda?”

            AJ was all smiles as Joseph sat next to him on the couch. “It was good. I told her about you living here.”

            “Oh?”

            AJ wasn’t entirely sure if Joseph knows Amanda’s distaste for him, so he told a bit of a white lie, “Since it had been just the two of us living together for such a long time, I wasn’t sure how she’d take the news of someone else under the roof.”

            “Ah, yes, I understand that.”

            Joseph let out a breath and let his body relax next to AJ. They were so close that one could put their head on the other’s shoulder. They lived together in silence for a bit—Joseph’s attention on the TV and AJ’s on his laptop. Joseph was drawn more to AJ every day, and naturally was getting physically closer to him—intentionally or not. Joseph turned his attention to his new roommate and smiled at his Concentrated Face. “What are you working on?” Joseph asked

            “Detail shots from the Davis wedding,” AJ replied, breaking his gaze from the screen to look up at Joseph, “I’m most proud of this shot of the rings.”

            AJ clicked through the works currently up on Photoshop to find a photo of the couple’s wedding bands dangling on a piece of white nylon rope. AJ was incredibly happy with the crispness of the rings and rope perfectly contrasting with the blur of the wooden dock and lake water. Joseph chuckled under his breath and raised an eyebrow before impulsively whispering, “I can think of a much better use for that rope.”

            AJ’s eyes went wide and could feel his face flush with even the slightest idea of what Joseph could’ve meant. He playfully asked, “Are you coming on to me, Joseph?” while looking back at his computer

            “Maybe.”

            Both of their hearts tightened in their chests. Joseph remained fixated on AJ as he quickly turned back to him. If Joseph was being serious, this could be what AJ had been longing for. AJ looked from Joseph’s eyes—breathtakingly blue—to his lips, which were slightly agape. Joseph took a risk, and began to lean closer to AJ. The two shut their eyes and were kissing soft and slowly, letting each peck linger to savor the moment.

AJ shut his laptop and set it on the coffee table in front of him, only to return to Joseph with more aggression, allowing his hands to grab at Joseph’s waist and the nape of his neck. Joseph stifled a moan as he kissed AJ back with equal force. AJ’s fingers traced patterns in Joseph’s hair as they continued to relish each other, moans becoming more audible. In a gasp for air, Joseph let out “God, I missed this”

“Yea?” AJ exhaled, separating himself from him

“I missed you.”

AJ smiled as Joseph kissed his cheek, thinking that was all for now: a sweet way to end the night. But then Joseph kissed his cheek lower, and trailed down to his jawline, and stopped at his neck. He bore his teeth and AJ melted into Joseph’s arms. He remembered what gets him. “Fuck, Joseph,” AJ moaned. He wasn’t expecting any of this, but a part of him that always hoped it would happen whenever they were alone.

Joseph, taking pleasure in knowing his feelings were mutual, bit AJ’s neck with more intensity. AJ craned his neck as he sighed, gripping Joseph’s shirt tighter with every kiss. God, he wished he could just pull that shirt off his back and run his fingers over his skin, but a sudden realization came over him. “We shouldn’t let it go further than this,” AJ gasped as Joseph’s trail of kisses went back to his lips

He immediately stopped, and the firm grip Joseph had on AJ’s forearms relaxed. He understood. “You’re right; I’m sorry,” He let go, and began to get up from the couch, but AJ didn’t let him get far.

“At least, not right now. I missed you, too, Joseph,” His face turned red again as he continued, “I’m sure you could tell.”

Joseph gave AJ a gentle smile. “You’re right. We shouldn’t jump into this so quickly,” Joseph brushed a lock of hair from AJ’s face, “You are so kind and talented and such a beautiful person; the first—perhaps only person—who has faith in me. I still have more growing to do. Can we take it one day at a time?”

And with a gentle peck on the lips, AJ let him know “I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said the next part would involve a Knife Dad? That's coming, I promise. This needed to be done first.

**Author's Note:**

> Redeeming Joseph because everyone deserves a second chance!
> 
> There may or may not be a part two involving a certain Knife Dad that I have vague ideas for, so if people want it, I can try to finish it...


End file.
